History
The history of Sai Don is often described using three time periods: Time of Tumult Religious texts from long ago claim that a Time of Tumult existed at the beginning of things in which monsters ruled the ocean and those who lived on land would not sail the seas. Few individuals lived on islands at this time and those that did were the indigenous peoples or the offspring of unfortunates whose ships capsized or were torn apart. Life in these times was meager and food was hard to come by causing substantial infighting. The monsters reveled in this chaos and received bounties from the superstitious land-dwellers who had forsaken their absent gods in favor of appeasing the horrors before them. And while the mortals may have turned their backs on the gods, the gods had yet to abandon their wards. The texts decree that Seven Sages rode out of the Tumult towards Rich Reef. The sages taught the inhabitants of the Rich Reef how to gather food without endangering themselves. The people rejoiced in their salvation and built temples of teaching to propagate the Sage's lessons. After several years the Sages decided that their education could only go so far while the monsters still roiled in the tumult. The Sages requested that the god Heim the Worker build a ship capable of sailing the Sai Don seas unmolested by the monsters. Using this ship the Sages sailed back out into the Tumult in an act of divine sacrifice. For it is said that the following night the ocean roared and lightning bolts flew from the sky and the monsters were pulled in the direction the Sages left. The creatures writhed under the waves like eels in a barrel but could not escape the ineludible grasp of the Sages' magic. With the monsters gone Sai Don woke to a new dawn and a new ocean. The Reclamation of Sai Don The reclamation of Sai Don is recorded by the first historians of the Seven Sages University on Rayska. During this period it is said that life grew and expanded across Sai Don. City states were established and travelers from the Far Lands ventured out towards the islands. Few conflicts occurred between new settlers and the natives of Sai Don as there was plenty of land for each settlement to be established separate from the others. It was also at this time that trade between the isles became established. Vulcuud established During the Reclamation Dwarves first settled on the island that would later became known as Vulcuud ("Hope" in dwarven) after a long and tiresome journey from countries deep within the Far Lands. The dwarves established mining networks and eventually began trading their crops and goods beyond their borders. However, it was established early on that Vulcuud was a dwarven colony and in order to ensure this the Vulcuudians began turning away travelers of other races who sought asylum. Rayska's Coup During the Time of Tumult, before the Seven Sages rode forth from the sea, the island of Rayska was populated by the survivors of shipwrecks. The island itself was rocky and wind blown but a monarchy and sprouting society had formed. The first kings were rugged and respected leaders who had survived the Tumult and fought monsters but when a new era of peace was ushered in the kings no longer had to live the lives of daring warriors. Due to its location in the center of Sai Don, Rayska quickly became a hub for trade and travel. Soon the island became quite wealthy and the kings became soft, greedy, and stupid. They erected walls and castles to protect their interests from perceived enemies who lived miles away while at the same time inviting greedy advisers into their council meetings. It was not long before these same advisers came to the consensus that they could rule better than the king and orchestrated a series of events that would sow dissent among the king's subjects. The advisors subsequently had the king, unknowingly, sign an executive order splitting the throne among his advisors. The outraged king, when he discovered the subterfuge, was unable to find support among his former allies and fled into exile. All the while, the new owners of Rayska implementing orders that would forever fix Rayska's position as the economic hub of Sai Don Oberdonian Secession Sometime after the Tumult ended the fascist nation of Dunclaw in the Far Lands tried to lay their claim to Sai Don. They mobilized an armada of ships that settled in the frozen wastes of what would later become known as Oberdon. However, as the settlement was being established a secession occurred. Many of the Dragonborn masters sent to oversee the settlement grew distasteful of the barren landscape and sought passage back to their home. Left with a skeleton crew the remaining masters succumbed to a coup orchestrated between the "softskin" servants, lizardfolk allies, and some of the native tribes people who were being evicted from their territory. The Dunclaw masters eventually sent out a second armada to reclaim the territory but suffered massive losses in the frigid waters en route to the nation. When they arrived they discovered that through winter their former servants had fortified their encampment and the Dunclaw forces were unable to maintain their siege. The remainder of the Dunclaw fleet fled south to Rayska where they either defected into the Rayskan elite or returned home in disgrace. The Wars of Sai Don After the reclamation came a time of war in which several battles plagued Sai Don's seas. The new nations began to expand as they cemented their place as powerhouses in the new Sai Don. Several of the native populations were forced to emigrate or join into the growing populations. Trade increased substantially as the need for goods increased. Similarly the number of ships that sailed the seas boomed. The War of the New Islands The first great conflict occurred in the Oberdonian territories. The newly established Oberdonian state sought to liberate the barbaric hordes that lived in the island states surrounding their frozen nation. Sai Don's first war occurred as Oberdonian naval ships, outfitted with stolen Dunclaw armaments and weapons sailed the frozen reaches. Destroying pirate and barbarian encampments and unifying the scattered populations under one banner. Many of the island nations that joined the Oberdonians did so willingly and are still well-protected by the Oberdonian navy to this day. The Treaties As the Oberdonians sailed south during the first claim their navy eventually became thinly spread. The new Rayskan nation agreed to a treaty with the Oberdonians ensuring that the Rich Reef region would not engage in the war with the Oberdonians on the conditions that the assault was stopped and that no harm would come to Rayskan ships. The War of the Old Islands Some time after the treaties were signed Oberdon had managed to recover from its earlier war and sought to unify the remainder of Sai Don. They left Rayska in peace in accordance with their treaty, however, the military nation was unprepared for the opposition they faced from the old islands: those being the nations of Creser and Vulcuud. The Creserans raged guerilla warfare against the Oberdonian ships and when one of the many island states was captured the pirates would hide out in one of Creser's many caves until the Oberdonians were forced to leave. Ultimately the Oberdonian fleet had greater success further in its expedition as it laid siege to many islands in Vulcuudian territory. This strong advance was eventually thwarted however when the Oberdonians led an assault on Vulcuud itself. The volcano for which the main island is named erupted destroying much of the Oberdonian fleet while the Vulcuudian's survived deep within a pocket of the earth. Almost simultaneously a dwarven armada had managed to make its way towards the Oberdonian capital undetected. The Oberdonian navy was forced to surrender and return to their home defeated. With the aide of the Rayskans, the Vulcuudians drafted an agreement that allowed Oberdon to remain a nation and retain the territories it had established before the first war. In exchange Oberdon would teach The Established Decree, a set of tenants by which Oberdonians would live, and would assist in the construction and maintenance of a set of watch towers on the Oberdonian frontier that would alert the rest of Sai Don to any future attacks. Rise/Fall of Creser After the Second war Creser had a brief period of tremendous growth. Almost overnight the various pirate captains established a unified Creser that would work towards both increased infrastructure and trade. For a period this growth was unmatched and challenged Rayska as a cultural hub and potential tourist destination. Then just as quickly Creser fell into ruin. While some settlements remain, the majority of the archipelago has fallen back to its ways of crime and piracy.